The Celestial Sphere and Motions of the Sky & Constellations
Where are all the stars? Light Pollution Mini Unit
Part 1: Watch the videos about light pollution below and answer the following 9 questions in your notebook:
What percentage of people in the US cannot see the Milky Way because of light pollution?
What is light pollution?
What are the two main types of light pollution? Describe each and give examples of each.
Does the Grand Canyon area have the darkest skies visible from the US? What about in the world?
Describe how light pollution effects various forms of biology found in the natural environment.
What other major problem arises from light pollution besides negative affects on astronomy and environmental harm? (hint: 2 million barrels/day in the US alone!)
How are humans effected by artificial light at night?
Identify ways we can "fix" the light pollution problem.
How much money is spent on wasted and unnecessary lighting in the US each year? How could this wasted lighting impact climate change?
Part 2: Watch "The City Dark", a compelling documentary about light pollution that released in 2010. You will compose a short persuasive writing piece about light pollution after watching this documentary and the videos above, arguing whether or not you believe light pollution to be a serious or non-serious issue. Compose a 1-2 paragraph writing piece in a word document, clearly stating your position on the light pollution issues presented in the videos, and citing reasons to support your arguments.
Open up the PDF Celestial Sphere Questionnaire Packet below - answer the questions in your notebook. Use the Celestial Sphere Readings below, plus the Wallace notes on the celestial sphere and the celestial sphere virtual diagram to help you. You will need to spend some time with each resource - the answers will NOT just jump out at you.
The Constellations (and bright stars/objects) YOU NEED TO KNOW and Diagram on flashcards are listed below in the table. Use the IAU and Constellation Directory Links above for constellation outlines - also cross reference with Wallace Notes/Diagrams. Be sure to label your diagrams and represent the brighter stars as larger dots, just like the diagrams from the web resources do.
(1)North Circumpolar
(2)Spring
(3)Summer
(4)Late Summer/Early Fall
(5)Late Fall/Winter
Ursa Major (Alcor & Mizar)
Leo (Regulus)
Hercules
Cygnus (Deneb)
Pegasus
Ursa Minor (Polaris)
Cancer
Corona Borealis
Lyra (Vega)
Andromeda (M31 - The Andromeda Galaxy)
Draco
Gemini (Pollux & Castor)
Scorpius (Antares)
Aquila (Altair)
Cassiopeia
Canis Minor (Procyon)
Libra
Capricornus
Auriga (Capella)
Cepheus
Canis Major (Sirius)
Virgo (Spica)
Sagittarius
Taurus (Aldebaran)
Bootes (Arcturus)
Delphinus
The Pleiades Star Cluster
Orion (Betelgeuse, Rigel, M42 - The Great Nebula)
Perseus
Constellation Practice Activity: Students, please spend 15-20 min. practicing identifying constellations from REAL pictures of the night sky. You only need to practice identifying our listed constellations from the table above, however you may wish to explore other constellation pictures. The following website and more importantly the Power Point below will contain pictures of stars with and without lines. Use your flashcards to help you identify. Work with a partner, make a game out of it - see who can get more or get them faster, or have one person select a picture and then show his/her partner for some practice quizzing.
The Celestial Sphere and Motions of the Sky & Constellations
Where are all the stars? Light Pollution Mini Unit
Part 1: Watch the videos about light pollution below and answer the following 9 questions in your notebook:Part 2: Watch "The City Dark", a compelling documentary about light pollution that released in 2010. You will compose a short persuasive writing piece about light pollution after watching this documentary and the videos above, arguing whether or not you believe light pollution to be a serious or non-serious issue. Compose a 1-2 paragraph writing piece in a word document, clearly stating your position on the light pollution issues presented in the videos, and citing reasons to support your arguments.
For Further Information:
International Dark Sky Association
AstronomyNotes.com - The Celestial Sphere
Open up the PDF Celestial Sphere Questionnaire Packet below - answer the questions in your notebook. Use the Celestial Sphere Readings below, plus the Wallace notes on the celestial sphere and the celestial sphere virtual diagram to help you. You will need to spend some time with each resource - the answers will NOT just jump out at you.
Class Action Celestial Sphere
Rotating Sky Videos:
Constellations:
General InfoIAU Constellations
Constellation Directory
Star Maps
Read about Star Lore
Read about Star Lore 2
Read about Star Lore 3
The Constellations (and bright stars/objects) YOU NEED TO KNOW and Diagram on flashcards are listed below in the table. Use the IAU and Constellation Directory Links above for constellation outlines - also cross reference with Wallace Notes/Diagrams. Be sure to label your diagrams and represent the brighter stars as larger dots, just like the diagrams from the web resources do.
Constellation Practice Activity: Students, please spend 15-20 min. practicing identifying constellations from REAL pictures of the night sky. You only need to practice identifying our listed constellations from the table above, however you may wish to explore other constellation pictures. The following website and more importantly the Power Point below will contain pictures of stars with and without lines. Use your flashcards to help you identify. Work with a partner, make a game out of it - see who can get more or get them faster, or have one person select a picture and then show his/her partner for some practice quizzing.
http://www.davidmalin.com/fujii/general/af_const1.html Real pictures of the sky, with and without lineshttp://skysurvey.org - Awesome views of the sky!
www.stellarium.org